


Like Father, Like Daughter

by MorningGlory21



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen, also some more backstory to events, juicy juicy story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-04 21:23:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15155924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorningGlory21/pseuds/MorningGlory21
Summary: After the Civil War, Evelyn was so angry. A whirlwind of hurt and a byproduct of becoming part of the Union during great turmoil.So, she took that out on somebody who did care. Hurt their relationship. They were petty and bitter towards each other for years, until they'd had enough.





	Like Father, Like Daughter

**Author's Note:**

> Evelyn - Kansas  
> Seth/Liam - Massachusetts/Rhode Island (friend's ocs + New Hampshire)  
> Roberto/Jan/Beverly/Clark/Martha - California/New York/Oregon/Idaho/Washington  
> 

The air in the meeting room was oppressive, at least to Evelyn. Everybody else seemed largely at ease; Jan with his air of confidence, Liam with his small smile and eyes full of mirth, Roberto with his tired eyes but calm body posture. Yet Evelyn couldn’t find herself at ease, with her mind in a whirlwind. 

The nights spent under Western stars and crossing paths with so many others had changed her mind, for the better it seemed. She also thought back to her outburst back at the beginning of the post-war time, 1865, where her mind was like a tornado; it ripped and tore and threw, but left just as quickly as it had come. Repeated offenses and attacks on those she loved and held dear forced her away out into the deserts and high plains to  _ think. _

And think she had. She thought of her brother, somebody she’d missed for so long, she thought of Clark with his soft face and naivety to a world so callous and crass. Martha, with her shock of bright hair and face, who seemed to have boundless energy and lit up the room. Roberto, the man she felt comfortable enough to voice her anger towards the East, for the things they started; a friend, a strong presence.

She even thought of Beverly and Texas, thoughts with an undercurrent of bitter anger and bitter jealousy; they had a closeness she hadn’t yet honed with William for so long.

Returning later, in 1867 or thereabouts, Evelyn bore a strained apology to the one she had tried to strangle. A bitter part of her, a minority, had grumbled and moaned about how Beverly  _ deserved _ it; but the more rational side of her, one cultivated on hard grounds, during lonely nights and in quiet saloons, had soothed her rage to a soft edge, forced her to apologize.

“ _ I want to see little Clark and Martha.... And make up with Roberto….they’re my friends, they deserve that at least….” _

Even after she had apologized, and made her peace with Beverly’s presence, one sore spot had lingered. It was like a pest, chewing at her walls at night and keeping her awake.

Seth.

Oh, how she had raged at him. Called him things she mustn't ever repeat in the presence of younger states, told him he’d been like the one who’d hurt him before ( _England_ ), so many other awful things. They’d seemed like the best words to convey her anger and she hadn’t stayed around long to see his face. But letters she sent afterwards (albeit, also not very nice) and succeeding interactions yielded nothing. He ignored her like she was like dust, and that infuriated her even more.  
  
The consoling from Liam and New Hampshire did very little at first. Evelyn shrugged them off like rain water, and pressed even more into antagonizing him. German swears, English ones, a variety of swears in languages she’d picked up from her time out in the plains and deserts.

Yet, he still ignored her like it was nothing. And Evelyn didn’t like at all being treated like nothing. She’d been the forefront of politics for a better portion of the 1850s and a bit during the Civil War. She also knew her influence extended just a bit more, with the people of other states. Whatever her people or government did, others seemed  to watch and listen. So of course, to be treated like she didn’t even exist drove her up the wall.

Their ‘interactions’, if one could even call them that, carried on for so long. However, Evelyn had become so fatigued with it. One trip out into the Nevada deserts and towns shone new light into her mind. There’d been one particular man, but with respect to him, Evelyn never mentioned him, who had shown her the true thought and way to go about it.  


Add in nights spent sleeping under a wide array of stars and with a very lovely woman, Evelyn finally came upon what she thought Roberto had been trying to impart upon her; humility, respect, being a decent fucking human. 

Evelyn shot a look at the man in question from across the room while he was engrossed in some papers; she’d have to thank him for that later.

So, she sought out the two states that had tried to comfort her in the beginning (and bless them, for keeping faith in her) and truly took their words to heart. Even if she felt still snubbed and hurt by Seth’s actions, it was time she swallowed her pride a bit. The two had explained to her Seth’s… harder ability to express emotions.

“ _ Like you, just...in a different way. Opposite ends of the same spectrum. _ ”

Evelyn had huffed at that, but accepted it. She formulated a plan, after that, about how to apologize to Seth. He seemed to pass by her like a stream with a firm rock. So, she’d have to  _ make _ him stay, to listen to her. Make it so he couldn’t slip by her like a stream. Evelyn had been so confident then, a month ago, when she had made those plans.

So, why now did she feel like she was facing 100 soldiers with rifles? She was Evelyn fucking Lawrence, the Great Soldier State; the state birthed in the blood of a shattering nation. She’d ridden in dust storms, under blazing sun, fought with men and lived to tell the tale.

Why did one little apology make her feel like a tornado’s storm?

* * *

Throughout the meeting, Evelyn tries to grab his attention, rubbing her eyes away from angry tears. Her emotions were welling up with frustration. They'd been playing this game for so long, and Evelyn was tired of it and she felt that Seth might be tired of it too. Yet, he kept looking away and it enraged Evelyn beyond anything that'd she felt before.

For once, she was trying to be sincere and yet he was still playing the dumb game! Which was fair....Evelyn bitterly grumbled to herself, he had no reason to believe otherwise. Still, it broiled an angry feeling in her gut and she had to still herself; she had to finish this dumb little thing.

She was trying to be the bigger person, dammit! Just like Roberto had tried to teach, one ignored for so long in favor of pure and raw emotion. 

So when the meeting let out, Evelyn cornered him away from the others in the empty room. She realized that it might be coming off as...threatening, but whatever.   
  
"Listen to me Seth," she placed her hands on his shoulders to get a good look at him, "I'm tired of this. Of you ignoring me, of me insulting you to Hell, Heaven and this world....."   
  
Even though she'd practiced this for  _ weeks _ , the apology still stuck to her throat, yet he spoke up first. His signature scowl was still scrawled across his face, but his eyes spoke something different.   
  
"Is this some game of yours?"

His eyes swept over her face and his eyebrows scrunched up, but at least he actually was acknowledging her presence! She smirked and then flattened it into something neutral, to not appear one way or another.

"No...it's not. I really am sorry."   
  
His eyes searched hers (looking for lies?) and she stared back, biting her lip and leaning back away from him, hands off now.   
  
"Then...fine. I'm sorry too."

Evelyn felt ecstatic then, just like the celebrations from when she became a state. Or when she held Clark for the first time, a warm happiness that crept all over her body. She felt tears prick her eyes, and suddenly she surged forwards and wrapped him in a big hug. No matter how much she had spewed her anger towards him, it was less about him and more so towards things that had hurt Evelyn overall.

And damn, did she miss actually hugging other people!

He didn’t squirm much in her big hug, one that lifted him from the ground much, but he did let out a small sigh. That snapped her from her tearful daze and she wiped her face into the elbow of her shirt, looking away sheepishly.

They stayed in silence, until Seth spoke up.

“Do you want to go get a drink...Evelyn?”

Evelyn beamed, mood lightening considerably. It felt like the cross she’d been bearing for so long had finally lifted and she nodded with uninhibited enthusiasm.

“I damn would, Seth.”

 


End file.
